Sunday Funday meant it was Perots geaux to the Fort Worth Alliance Airshow at Alliance Airport. None of us had been before, which is ridiculous considering it was the 25th Anniversary of it. If you read no further in this post, just heed my advice: Mark your calendars right now to attend next year. Seriously, you have to go at least once.
Having zero expectations and a bag full of sunscreen, we followed the masses through the fields and onto the tarmacs of Fort Worth’s regional airport. Unfortunately, we only got there for the remaining few hours of the show, so we missed the Breitling Jets, the F-22 Raptor, the P-47 Thunderbolt, the stunt flyers and the Shockwave Jet Truck (some of which we saw flying over our neighborhood the day before). You’d think we missed everything, but we made it for the U.S. Navy’s flight demonstration squadron’s amazing finale.
The Blue Angels’ program started with their monster supply plane, a jet-assisted C-130 affectionately named, “Fat Albert” (if you’re old enough to remember that show — that’s pretty good Navy humor). While you wouldn’t think a supply plane would be that entertaining, it was rather like watching a 375 pound linebacker who unexpectedly gets a turnover and “sprints” for the end zone to make a touchdown. I was equally impressed with this hulk of a plane’s 45 degree ascent, agility and stop on a dime controlled landing. How this monster could be so nimble in the air defies the physics that I can wrap my head around.
Then onto the showcase. Traveling at speeds of more than 500 miles an hour at times (although they can go double that) at times, the F/A-18 Hornets simply snuck into the sky before we realized they were coming. It must be incredible to fly one of those massive machines.
I used to have a client that was a former Blue Angel. He was not lacking in confidence that’s for sure, and now I know why…
I can’t even imagine how beautiful the world must look from that vantage point.
Sometimes when they are flying, there’s only 18 inches between their wingtip to canopy separation.
I may have said a bad word when I saw this.
Or when they did this flyby where it looks like they’re going to touch. And oh, no biggie but that one is upside down.
The high-energy show was full of patriotism and music. No way you could be bored, or even process all the factual and fascinating information they share with you during the performance. Or leave without wanting a little airplane of your own for that matter.
If you’d like to see the Blue Angels in person, they’ll be back in our area on April 23 – 24, 2016 at the NAS Fort Worth JRB Air Power Expo. If you’d like to see more untouched photos from our afternoon, visit my Flickr channel by clicking on the image below. If you’d like to attend the Fort Worth Alliance Air Show next year, here’s the site to watch for information.
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